Guy Fieri Accused of Being Homophobic By Former ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’ Producer

Food Network host Guy Fieri is in a rather public fight with his former producer, and the situation has spilled over in the courtroom.

‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’ creator and producer David Page, who helped Fieri with this career when the spiky-haired, sunglasses-wearing cook won ‘The Next Food Network Star’ in 2006, gives a startling interview to City Pages magazine.

In the interview, Page not only says that Fieri was difficult to work with after a while — not showing up in time to film the show, odd demands, and insisting on wearing his trademark shorts while filming a Christmas special — he also says that Fieri made anti-Semetic remarks and told him that he had to be “warned” when he was going to interact with gay people because “those people weird me out.”

Page sued Food Network for breach of contract last spring after the network let him go from his job on the show after Fieri allegedly demanded that Page be fired. The channel filed a counterclaim against Page this summer, saying it was Page who breached the contract by his actions on the set. Both sides recently settled the lawsuits.

Fieri’s spokesman, Jesse Derris, released a statement about Page’s interview and accusations, saying “Guy’s reputation speaks for itself. He’s a standup guy who does right by people. He would never make the kind of comments attributed to him in this story, and anyone who knows or has even met him knows that.” Derris issued another statement on Monday, one that only seems to prolong this battle in the public eye.